Have you ever come across a recipe so mind blowingly amazing that it completely changes the way you cook something? This is what happened to me when I tried Edward Lee’s recipe for Potato Stuffed Roast Chicken out of his cookbook “Smoke & Pickles.” I’d roasted tons of chickens in my life, and they were always good, but this was in a league all its own. By using Lee’s method and stuffing the skin with potato, the potato creates a layer of moisture between the skin and meat, creating tender, juicy pieces of slow roasted chicken. And, once you’ve stuffed the skin with the potato, you can carry on with dressing and cooking your chicken however you want.
I kept my chicken simple by seasoning it with salt, pepper, and dill seasoning, and loading the roasting pan with white wine, leeks, onion, garlic, and chicken stock. It is up to you though however you want to flavour your chicken. The best thing about food is that you can add your own twist to something as simple as smoked chicken quarters. For the wine, I used Cloudline Cellar’s Pinot Gris. Sourced from the Willamette Valley, this wine’s fragrant citrus character complements the onion and leek used in this roast perfectly.
White Wine Roasted Chicken Quarters with Leeks
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
4 chicken quarters
3 leek stalks, cleaned, trimmed and halved
1 small yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
2 tablespoons dill seasoning
2 russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 cup Cloudline Cellar Pinot Gris
½ cup chicken stock
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and sauté for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside
Prepare chicken by rinsing and removing any excess fat. Once prepared, gently lift skin and stuff generously with potatoes. Set aside.
Add wine, chicken stock, onions, garlic and leeks into a large roasting pan. Place chicken in pan and rub tops of chicken with olive oil. Season with dill, salt and pepper and place in middle rack of oven. Cook chicken for about 1 hour, or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees.
This chicken goes well with a side of rice and a fresh, green salad, perfect for spring.
